Oscar Hijuelos.

Author. Oscar Hijuelos’ family came from the Oriente province of Cuba and settled in New York City. Hijuelos was reared amid two divergent worlds: that of Columbia University, teeming with scholars, and that of Morningside Park, overflowing with drug addicts and muggers. At age four, Hijuelos and his mother visited Cuba, and upon his return, he succumbed to nephritis. Bedridden, Hijuelos lingered in a hospital for two years, disconnected from the Hispanic community. The themes of separation and isolation, especially from family, that he experienced would go on to saturate Hijuelos’ novels. He became further alienated from his parents because he spoke English, while they expected the family to speak Spanish. His father's hard drinking and the general poverty of his neighborhood further contributed to his difficult childhood.